Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings
The role of public procurement in preventing trafficking for labour exploitation in supply chains and advancing human rights
The issue Human rights abuses including trafficking for labour ex- ploitation and promote opportunities for responsible com- ploitation are increasingly found in the production of panies, for example, by awarding contracts to suppliers everyday goods and services. The public sector is not who can document safe, legal and fair working conditions. immune – it is frequently exposed to risks of exploitation in its purchasing. Public entities are the largest buyers of The OSCE Model Guidelines on Government Meas- goods, services and works across many industry sectors, ures to Prevent Trafficking for Labour Exploita- and thus have a heightened responsibility to ensure they tion in Supply Chains suggest legal provisions are not contributing to the problem. Public buyers also that can be used by States to develop national have significant purchasing leverage to make a substan- legislation on the purchase of goods and services. tial contribution to combating forced labour. Development and enforcement of strong laws and policies governing Download Link: https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/1/9/371771.pdf the procurement of goods, services and works for public entities can help governments eliminate the market for ex- The OSCE’s approach: Leading by example Policy development and capacity building In 2017, the OSCE Ministerial Council tasked the To lay a foundation for eliminating risk, the OSCE began Secretary General to ensure that no activities of by revising internal and external-facing procurement poli- the OSCE executive structures, including the is- cies. It amended its Procurement and Contracting Policy suing of contracts for goods and services, contrib- Framework with direct reference to OSCE’s commitment ute to any form of trafficking in human beings on the importance of sustainable procurement with a spe- (MC Decision/6/17). cific mention of socially sustainable practices required of OSCE procurement practitioners. It also revised the OSCE Download link: https://www.osce.org/chairmanship/362096 Supplier Code of Conduct and OSCE General Conditions of Contract introducing obligations on suppliers to refrain from directly or indirectly engaging in any practice incon- In response to this directive, the OSCE began to exam- sistent with international human rights laws or standards ine its own supply chains to ensure its purchasing deci- that prevent child labour, sexual exploitation and trafficking sions do not contribute to any form of exploitation. For the in human beings. OSCE, a security organization promoting human rights in a number of fields, obtaining a ‘cheap’ deal on the basis of To facilitate implementation of the policies, the OSCE then human rights violations is simply not an option. The OSCE held awareness-raising workshops for its procurement expects its buyers to assess the sources of the goods and anti-trafficking staff across the Organization, devel- and services they procure as well as the risks of human oped an online training curriculum, and a comprehensive trafficking and labour exploitation that may exist in those guidance document for OSCE procurement practitioners. supply chains. The OSCE Procurement Guidance supports the Whole-organization approach implementation of anti-trafficking measures in The OSCE takes a whole-organization approach to ad- all phases of the procurement process across the dressing the risks of human trafficking in its procurement, OSCE and fosters collaboration between anti-traf- from leadership at the senior management level to imple- ficking focal points and procurement staff at the mentation by procurement officers across the organiza- OSCE field operations. tion. The Office of the Special Representative and Co-or- dinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (OSR/ Download link: CTHB) and the Department for Management and Finance https://www.osce.org/cthb/536001 (DMF) bring expertise on human trafficking and procure- Online training link: ment practices, respectively. These departments collab- https://elearning.osce.org/courses/course- orate on the development of relevant policies and prac- v1:OSCE+ACC202+2022/about tices, which are then rolled out across the organization. The OSCE also ensures that its strategies and policies are Risk-based approach informed by human trafficking survivors. The OSCE’s approach is risk-based, and is applied in each of its executive structures. Local tailoring requires Development of the OSCE’s approach to ethical procurement expert input from procurement practitioners with robust knowledge of local circumstances, supply markets, traf- ficking risks, labour practices, and supply and procure- ment needs of individual field operations. To better tailor Call Implementation Supplier interventions to local conditions, the OSCE held region- to action in practice Engagement al workshops with its executive structures to map their supply chains in detail and to identify and address areas of highest risk. Action plans with individual roadmaps for each executive structure were developed.
Policy and Action Monitoring and Guidance plans reporting Since the Serbia pilot in 2020, the OSCE has been analyzing the procurement data of all its executive structures for the risk of human trafficking and la- bour exploitation, making OSCE the first inter-gov- ernmental organization to undertake such an eval- Capacity Risk analysis uation for its own procurement portfolio. Remedy building and mapping Download Link: https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/3/1/450775.pdf Implementation in practice The OSCE has implemented human rights due diligence In 2022, the OSCE has: organization-wide where risks were identified and has managed to achieve: • Conducted five regional workshops with all OSCE field operations and institutions; • Full supply chain transparency in its supply of mobile • Put in place 12 local Action Plans for devices, with visibility up to the factory production level. addressing risks in OSCE’s supply chains; • Assessed 60+ contracts as potentially high risk • Improved working conditions for the outsourced secu- for human trafficking; rity staff working on OSCE premises by ensuring they • Planned 10+ engagement activities with are getting fair pay for the work provided, including all local suppliers on labour exploitation. social contributions, third party liability insurance, uni- forms, equipment and regular training. Provisions in the contract allow for monitoring of these commitments. The OSCE’s polices are now being implemented in prac- tice. The Organization has already introduced criteria in • Full visibility in the cost structure and employment various tenders and contract provisions to address these contracts of its outsourced cleaning staff, with proper risks, thereby improving transparency and accountabili- contractual provisions for regular monitoring, reporting ty. Examples include the provision of coffee and mobile and interviews with cleaning staff, which ensures that phones, as well as the provision of cleaning, security, hotel agreed wages and other benefits are paid regularly and and conferencing services. in full.
Tender preparation in the OSCE Key Stages where leverage over suppliers should be utilized
Contract Management
Monitoring, reporting, remediation, contractual clauses
Market Research Supplier Analysis Engagement Market analysis critical to Case studies, consultations support the tender design, Pre-tender briefing with with OSCE / UN offices / getting to know key market suppliers on the CTHB topic, NGOs, identifying suitable players discuss the evaluation criteria. evaluation criteria.
Procurement staff gains familiarity with the sourcing need and the type of CTHB risks in the supply chain. By consulting the guidance document and liaising with CTHB focal points, a procurement strategy is developed on how these risks are to be addressed. Complementary efforts with other international organizations The OSCE also promotes the importance of multilater- al cooperation to address risks of human trafficking and Taking the next step: labour exploitation in global supply chains. In 2019, the how the OSCE can help OSCE and ILO established and initially co-chaired a multi- agency Task Force mandated by the United Nations The OSCE has built significant experience in pol- High-Level Committee on Management to develop a pol- icy development and practical implementation of icy framework as a joint approach to combat human traf- human rights due diligence specific to the risk of ficking and labour exploitation in supply chains. In 2023, trafficking of human beings and forced labour in the OSCE took over as the Secretariat to the Task Force public procurement. In line with its mandate, the to support the implementation of actions related to the OSCE stands ready to assist public procurers in policy framework. developing and advancing their own efforts to ad- dress risks of labour exploitation in supply chains. These efforts are crucial for leveraging greater purchasing power to effect change on a larger scale and for advanc- Please contact us at info-cthb@osce.org ing human rights due diligence in public procurement, en- or visit our website at suring that international organizations not only adhere to but also champion the principles of sustainability. https://www.osce.org/cthb/supply-chains to learn more.